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What do you currently play in sPvP and WvW?


whoknocks.4935

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With the recent nerfs I see the meta condition sage amulet build is no longer that popular, what about switching axe for scepter?You still play it or maybe play chronobunker?

For WvW solo roaming power mirage now is definitely more popular then the cancer condi counterpart, is hybrid still the best of the 3?What builds you run for roaming then?I know about kittenclaw...?

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Bearing in mind RL is currently squeezing my game time, and I've also decided to take a detour to make Ad Infinitum (stupid kitten agony bullkitten mechanic requiring infusion swapping...), I'll comment on my brief experience following the patch.

This is the first big patch since pof release that has kicked me off Elusive Mind for good. I kept dabbling with it over the last year since exhaustion simply because the cleanse was so good, but now having experienced once the bullkitten exhaustion stacking it's truly LOL. :lol:

That and the IA nerf caused me to switch to IH build permanently.

Stats are currently in flux because I'm taking time to work on upgrading more legendary gear (couldn't be bothered in the past).

Utilities also currently in flux, but currently blink/MoR/StG.

So based on that I have note a few things.

Positive:Liberating to not worry about exhaustion, so much easier to play.Much stronger damage output with IH as before I had to rely on few burst opportunities with axe 3, shatter or IA and synchronize things; now it's every dodge. People don't seem to appreciate that without IH mirage burst and damage is quite sporadic and weak, but with IH is relentless.

Negatives:Play is more passive with clone ambushes.Loss of IA with zero stealth/detarget utility so only way to lose focus outside of axe 3 and torch 4. This makes outnumbered difficult compared with before, especially to disengage. Mirage can't take heat without breaking target unlike Chrono which can just tank it, so I'm on the fence with utility skill choice. So how I don't shatter often after axe 3, but instead weapons swap to staff 2 while keeping clone clutter to disorient. More boring playstyle tbh, but if this is how Anet wants me to play then so be it.

Neutral:mc nerf isn't as bad as I was anticipating fortunately. IA nerf was worse but I'm feeling stronger 1v1 as mentioned above because I handicapped myself with EM for the last year - good training.

So overall personal build changes make me feel much stronger 1v1 but weaker 1v2+.

Bit of a joke actually, given most people complain vs hybrid mirage in 1v1 for condi output, but Anet nerfed the survivability in longer/bigger encounters.

Anyway still loving and preferring mirage overall - nothing really going to change that as I play for aesthetics and thematic design, regardless of game balance. They could nerf mirage to dust and I'd still play for the audio/visual effects. But am interested for the first time to play a bit of Chrono on the side again just for something different - enjoyed reading the other threads and discussing with other forum members with the slow/interrupt gameplay. :)

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Additional note regarding axe ambush change:

Now axe ambush doesn't cast if facing away from your target - this is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to using axe 2 through your target.

Unlike staff or sceptre where you stay at range so can keep your character facing a target to cast ambush, with axe you are frequently axe 2 through something and have to pan the camera 180 degrees during the animation if dodge casting to cast ambush after it.

Otherwise are fully relying on any clones or DE clone (of course axe 2 clone spawns too late so doesn't do anything anyway) to do the axe ambush for you with IH.

This is one example of mirage damage being weaker without IH because you would be unable to follow up dodge axe 2 with ambush unless panning camera. In any case it is a bit annoying to have to do.

However the blessing is when it comes to using follow up stealth skill like torch 4. Due to delayed nature of axe ambush and also the additional phantasmal axe from the trait it was a frequent occurrence to stealth before the axe hit this breaking stealth almost immediately and revealing self/wasting the stealth (again another problem haters don't seem to get, especially if used together with things like evasive mirror rendering any excessive use of stealth with axe axe mirage almost impossible, hence reliance on detargets like IA instead...).Anyway, now because the ambush doesn't cast after axe 2 if facing away (unless are still facing target), torch 4 can be used much sooner without fear of delayed flying axe breaking it.

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I've been doing basically nothing but WvW solo roaming lately. I'm still using the same build that I did before the patch, which is quite similar to the build I use for open world with a few trait and utility swaps. As a snapshot of how the build performs, I roamed solo for 5 hours yesterday and engaged (and won) many outnumbered fights, but only died 3 times (all to zergs showing up in the middle of a fight!). The build feels strong 1v1 or outnumbered and has good escape abilities when things get too hot.

Axe/Torch, StaffTorment runes, Energy/Malice sigilsMirror/Blink/Illusionary Ambush/Arcane Thievery/JauntChaos 3-1-1Dueling 2-2-3Mirage 2-3-1

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@ZeteCommander.4937 said:After nerf without considering the intensity, mirage feels very bad in operation .It's not fun.

I disagree. I do miss the third jaunt (from the previous nerf) more than the reduced mirage cloak/superspeed, and while the nerf to illusionary ambush and axes likewise doesn't make me too happy, I don't feel they substantially changed anything about how Mirage is played. Condi mirage still works nicely, with axe or staff, or scepter.

That said, I am lately experimenting with a power-build centered around Sword+Torch and Scepter+Pistol, and it works quite nicely. You might die a lot in full zerker or zerker and assassins gear (I sure do), but you also dish out a ton of damage. As dodges and other active defenses are still available, survivability still isn't bad at all, especially if you're a good player.

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WVW roaming, hybrid mirage since mid last year.

Build hasn't changed much — Sc/P & Sw/T, mix of grieving/marauder/couple other stats. Duel/Illu/Mir. Sometimes using Sc/Focus since the pull can be timed with Sc#3 and it works pretty well. Traited pistol is better overall for 1v1s though. Still using SoM, blink, IA. CD nerf on IA was heavy-handed but it still is invaluable for outnum juking.

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@Magolith.9412 said:WVW roaming, hybrid mirage since mid last year.

Build hasn't changed much — Sc/P & Sw/T, mix of grieving/marauder/couple other stats. Duel/Illu/Mir. Sometimes using Sc/Focus since the pull can be timed with Sc#3 and it works pretty well. Traited pistol is better overall for 1v1s though. Still using SoM, blink, IA. CD nerf on IA was heavy-handed but it still is invaluable for outnum juking.

How do you handle conditions? I'm playing something very similar in PvP right now; problems are condi bombs and Mesmer clones since the AoE is a bit lacking.

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@lifeshoutslive.4163 said:How do you handle conditions? I'm playing something very similar in PvP right now; problems are condi bombs and Mesmer clones since the AoE is a bit lacking.

2x Jaunts are my only condi clear. If I know I'm about to 1v1 a pure condi, I might swap IA for cleanse mantra if I think they're going to be a challenging fight. WVW is different than sPVP though. I usually have plenty of open space to kite – don't have to worry about fighting on a point. Well-timed dodges/invuln/blocks are usually enough unless I get +1'd.

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@Lincolnbeard.1735 said:I mostly roam on wvw. It depends, do I want to have fun? Power mirage/chrono, dom/duel/X - now trash sustain, trash sustain damage but fun to play.Do I want to do good even outnumbered - condi mirage - duel illu mirage.

What attributes/runes do you use on condi mirage? Is sc/torch +stuff good? I want to try mirage, but I think I'd prefer scepter over axe and a lot of builds seem to run with axe :x

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@Sobx.1758 said:

@Lincolnbeard.1735 said:I mostly roam on wvw. It depends, do I want to have fun? Power mirage/chrono, dom/duel/X - now trash sustain, trash sustain damage but fun to play.Do I want to do good even outnumbered - condi mirage - duel illu mirage.

What attributes/runes do you use on condi mirage? Is sc/torch +stuff good? I want to try mirage, but I think I'd prefer scepter over axe and a lot of builds seem to run with axe :x

Plenty of people changed from axe to scepter, scepter is good because of the short cd block.I run 323 on duel, 332 on illusion and 131 on mirage but I don't see most people running self-deception, I like to run it on condi tho for faster bursts.As for runes I run tormenting because of axe ambush, since it got nerfed I don't know if it compensates anymore.Rune of adventurer is always a safe bet, especially if you play hybrid.

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I'm still playing same build as before:Sc/Sw - Sw/T Due/ill/Mir, commander/marauder gear. Focusing on stacking might with sigils rune and oh sword, thing hits like a truck while not being squishy.

But tbh, haven't played mesmer much since warclaw introduction. Still lots of clueless pvers and people avoiding fights that don't give me any reason to roam.

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Still rockin' a condi interrupt build with Sc/P + staff for WvW roaming.It's a bit tough at present as it doesn't really have enough pressure to dismount someone and it's ineffective against the new and rather over tuned Scrapper that's becoming ubiquitous to the scene.It's still rewarding when you lock someone down though.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sword/pistol staff viper mirage. Using dueling/chaos with the interrupt trait that immobilizes, grants might and a random boon and Condi. Blink, daze mantra and arcane thievery to strip stab. It's very high damage, high mobility and can lock down/kite quite easily.

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